Druids as tanks
thumb|The Druid Bear Form Shapeshift into a bear, increasing Attack Power by 3 * level, Armor contribution from items by 200%/400%, and Stamina by 25%. Also protects the caster from polymorph effects and allows the use of various bear abilities. One of three tanking classes in the game, the druid is able to enter bear form and take the role of Tanking. The Bear Form The druid has two tanking forms: Bear Form obtained by quest at level 10 and Dire Bear Form obtained via trainer at level 40. The forms are the same except that Dire Bear has an even greater armor boost compared to bear form. The Bear Form is the druid tank form. When a druid shapeshifts into bear the following things happen: * Health: As of Patch 2.0.10, the Druid's stamina is increased by 25% * Attack Power: The Druid gains Attack Power equal to their level * 3 (180 Attack at level 60). Base DPS from weapons are discounted, although bonus stats from them still count. * Armor: The druid gains a 200%/400% armor boost from items (depending on Bear/Dire Bear form). The bonus is additive, meaning that if you have 1000 armor from items, Bear form will grant you: 1000 + 1000 * 2.0 = 3000 armor from items, while Dire Bear will grant you 1000 + 1000 * 4.0 = 5000 armor. * Threat (Aggro): The druid will obtain a 30% increase in all threat generated. This is the same bonus that the warrior is granted by Defensive Stance. Advantages of a druid tank A Bear Tank specialized Feral Druid will have much more armor and slightly more hit points than a comparably geared Warrior. Now that Thunderclap is available to warriors while they are in defensive stance, druids and warriors can both tank multiple mobs simultaneously, Warriors will use Thunderclap from defensive stance and druids will use Swipe. Bear tanking abilities (e.g Maul) scale very well with gear, though as of Patch 2.0.3, the threat generation from Maul is additive, similar to a Warrior's Heroic Strike. Druids are immune to Polymorph and Humanoid Mind Control effects (prevents Priest MC, but not Charmed effects like Hakkar the Soulflayer's ability). Bears can't be Disarmed, although they are sometimes vulnerable to the secondary effects of the "disarm" debuff. Druids can spec into the Feral Charge talent, which is similar to a Warrior's Intercept but does not require a stance change, which allows them to almost instantly re-engage a mob after getting knocked back. The Predatory Instincts, talent gives bears as much as a 15% chance to avoid area effect attacks and Survival of the Fittest reduces the incoming crit rate by up to 1/2/3% allowing druids to become crit immune with a lot less +defense rating gear than warriors. Disadvantages of a druid tank Druid tanks do not have the ability to parry attacks, unlike Warriors and Paladins. However, with the 2.0.0 change to agility needed for 1% of dodge, a druid's overall dodge can be as high as the combined totals of dodge and parry for most warriors and paladins. Being unable to use shields, they cannot mitigate damage through blocking like warriors and paladins. Due to the limited selection of +Defense rating on leather, they are more susceptible to critical hit attacks from boss level mobs without the proper gear. With the right gear, in particular the The Heavy Clefthoof Set (Heavy Clefthoof Boots, Heavy Clefthoof Leggings and Heavy Clefthoof Vest) it is entirely possible for a Bear tank to be crit immune, if the druid has the Survival of the Fittest talents. Their lack of a Shield Block ability means they also have no special means of avoiding crushing blow attacks from boss mobs two or more levels higher, however a high armor Bear may take less damage from a crushing blow than a Warrior takes from a regular blow. Druids cannot use consumables (e.g. potions, healthstones, etc.) in bear form. Druids have limited last resort options (Druids only have Frenzied Regeneration in Bear form, which uses all their rage, rendering them unable to use maul and swipe. In some situations they can risk preforming a double-shift to use a consumable or cast spells like Barkskin+Tranquility, Regrowth/Rejuvenation, or Nature's Swiftness+Healing Touch if the druid has specialized the Restoration Talent, Nature's Swiftness). Druids do not have an innate ability to directly counter fear. They can acquire a 15% resistance to it as well as stuns through the Feral Combat talent Primal Tenacity, though. While Fear Ward and Tremor Totems are the preferred way to counter Fear, Druids may also make use of one of two trinkets (the Insignia of the Alliance/Insignia of the Horde and the Glimmering Mithril Insignia if the druid has chosen Blacksmithing) but these are reliant on long cooldowns. Druids do not have an innate ability to directly counter magic damage. Warriors do with an innate mitigation of 10% while in Defensive Stance and with Spell Reflection while Paladins have up to 4% spell mitigation through the Spell Warding talent in addition to 6% from improved Righteous Fury talent. Tanking-related talents Both the Feral Combat and the Restoration druid talent trees have talents which improve tanking ability in some way. This also means most "tanking-specced" druids will have talent points in both of these trees. * With 5/5 Ferocity, Tier 1 Feral Combat: Rage cost on Maul and Swipe is reduced by 5. * With 3/3 Feral Instinct, Tier 2 Feral Combat: Threat generated is increased by 15% while in Bear Form (Threat modifier goes from 30% to 45%). * With 3/3 Thick Hide, Tier 2 Feral Combat: Armor contribution from items in any form is increased by 10%. The Bear Form multiplier comes on top of this, giving an effective 5.0*1.1 (550%) armor multiplier for a druid in bear form with this talent. * With 2/2 Feral Swiftness, Tier 3 Feral Combat: Increases dodge chance in Bear Form by 4%. * With 1/1 Feral Charge, Tier 3 Feral Combat: Allows the druid to charge in Bear Form. This ability works like a warrior's Intercept except it does not require stance switching and is on 15 second cooldown. * With 3/3 Sharpened Claws, Tier 3 Feral Combat: Critical Strike chance is increased by 6% while in Bear Form. * With 3/3 Predatory Strikes, Tier 4 Feral Combat: Attack Power in increased by 150% of level (to a max of 105 Attack Power at level 70). * With 2/2 Primal Fury, Tier 4 Feral Combat: The druid gains 5 rage for every critical hit they do in Bear Form. * With 1/1 Faerie Fire (Feral), Tier 5 Feral Combat: Decreases the armor of the target by 505. This ability does not stack with itself, does not cost any rage and is on a 6 second cooldown. Also generates a small amount of threat. * With 5/5 Heart of the Wild, Tier 6 Feral Combat: Stamina is increased by 20% in Bear/Dire Bear Form, granting an additional Health boost. * With 3/3 Survival of the Fittest, Tier 6 Feral Combat: Increases all stats by 3%. increasing dodge chance, crit chance, attack power, and health. Also reduces chance to be crit by 3%, the equivalent of 120 resilience (except it does not also reduce the damage taken from crits by 6%, as 120 resilience would), or 75 defense. * With 3/3 Primal Tenacity, Tier 7 Feral Combat: Increases chance to resist fear and stun by 15%. * With 1/1 Leader of the Pack, Tier 7 Feral Combat: +5% crit chance for all ranged and melee within 45 yards of the Druid. * With 2/2 Improved Leader of the Pack, Tier 7 Feral Combat: All characters benefitting from the Druid's Leader of the Pack heal 4% of their maximum health when they achieve a melee or ranged crit. This effect cannot trigger more than once every 6 seconds per player. * With 3/3 Predatory Instincts, Tier 8 Feral Combat: While in Bear Form, increases critical strike bonus by 10%, increasing the crit multiplier from 200% damage to 220% damage. Also increases chance to avoid all area effect attacks by 15% while in Bear Form. * With 1/1 Mangle, Tier 7 Feral Combat: Instant, high-damage ability on a 6 second cooldown that also increases damage from bleed effects for 12 seconds, increasing the threat generated by lacerate by 15%. Must have for threat generation. As of patch 2.0.10, there is a 50% threat bonus. * With 5/5 Furor, Tier 1 Restoration: The druid gains 10 Rage everytime they switch to Bear/Dire Bear Form. * With 5/5 Naturalist, Tier 2 Restoration: Physical damage done is increased by 10% (resulting in effectively a 10% increase in threat caused). * With 3/3 Intensity, Tier 3 Restoration: The druid gains 10 additional rage instantly upon using Enrage. * With 1/1 Omen of Clarity, Tier 3 Restoration: Allows the druid to enter a clearcasting state on a melee attack, reducing the mana/energy/rage cost of the next ability by 100% (effectively giving a rage-free maul or swipe. As a sidenote: OoC can proc on any melee hit, making it possible to Swipe spam with it indefinitely). Note: The best PvE tanking spec is 0/47/14. Various Aspects of Druid Tanking Druids have tanked raid instances and boss encounters such as Nefarian in Blackwing Lair, despite the druid Class Call. A Druid in Bear form is in itself a very viable tank. A Protection-specialized Warrior is usually the most accepted Main Tank for large 40-man raids but in many cases, a Feral Druid can do the job as well. Healing a Druid Tank Healers general consensus on healing a druid tank is commonly, "less spike damage, but more mana required". Druids tend to be hit more often, lacking the overall avoidance of a warrior tank, however their armor and stamina makes them more able to withstand very large physical damage attacks. On the other hand, when a short-duration large damage output period can be anticipated (i.e. a boss enraging) the druid's lack of a shield wall ability makes them harder to heal than a protection warrior. Damage Mitigation and Damage Avoidance Since druids cannot Parry or Block, druids have fewer ways of avoiding damage. As such, they must specialize their gear in order to maximize their advantages in damage mitigation. They rely on their much higher armor values to mitigate physical damage and their large hit point pool to provide a more comfortable buffer for their healers. Druids absorb devastating hits easier so they do well on mobs and bosses that hit hard. A Bear Tank's strategy is to absorb crushing blows, relying on the high armor and stamina to survive the big hits instead of trying to avoid them. Since they rely more on mitigation than avoidance, the smoother damage taken can be easier to heal as longer cast heals can be used without as much fear of overhealing. Despite the fact that druids cannot Parry or Block, +Defense gear is still useful for them, helping their Dodge as well as decreasing the amount of Criticals and normal hits suffered. After Burning Crusade, there has been an increase in +defense items, which boosts the druids ability to tank. Agility has the added bonus of increasing the chance of a Critical Strike and thus aggro generation, and agility increases armor, allowing the druid to take more damage when the hits do land. Poor itemization and the lack of a overall damage reducer (like the 10% reduction that comes with Defensive Stance) also hurts druid tanks in resist fights where, once again they must rely on their increased health to survive long enough for their healers to pull them through. Keep in mind, however, that since many boss mobs' magical attacks are also AOEs, that the 15% chance to avoid that damage has comparable long-term mitigation to defensive stance. Threat Generation Bear threat generating abilities scale slightly better than Warriors. Patch 2.03 changed the aggro for druids to be additive, same as the warrior. However, by speccing into the Feral Tree, a talent can increase the innate threat of a bear by up to 15% more, making druids more efficient at holding aggro. Druid Threat since 2.0.3 Starting in patch 2.0.3, Maul and Swipe no longer multiply their Threat by 1.75. Instead, Maul adds a flat amount of Threat to the base Threat caused by its damage (similar to the Warrior's Heroic Strike), and Swipe causes no additional Threat beyond that caused by the damage it inflicts. Bear Form still multiplies all Threat done by 1.3 (or by 1.45 with 3/3 Feral Instinct), however, including the additional Threat added to a Maul. Druid Threat since 2.0.10 Starting in patch 2.0.10, Mangle multiplies its Threat by 1.5. Lacerate will land a small about of damage, causing it to generate threat against bleed-immune creatures. It should be noted that lacerate's threat is now front-loaded, causing a change in how it is used. Before, lacerate's threat was generated through the bleed damage it caused; subsequent applications of lacerate would not do anything except increase the time left on the bleed back to 15 seconds. After the 2.0.10 change, each lacerate application causes a certain amount of threat (similar in use to Sunder Armor), while the threat from the bleed was emphasized less. Bear Form still multiplies all Threat done by 1.3 (or by 1.45 with 3/3 Feral Instinct). Note: depending upon talents, Maul, Swipe, and Mangle all cause significantly less damage because they no longer benefit from Savage Fury. Mangle no longer receives the base weapon damage multiplier of 130%. The additional crit damage from Predatory Instincts has been lowered from 15% to 10%. Snap Aggro Druids have both a single target Taunt and an AOE Taunt. In times where a Druid must generate a lot of threat in a short amount of time, the use of Mangle and Maul together can establish a high amount of threat within the period of one attack. It should be noted that both of these abilities can crit, generating around double the threat. If the Bear Tank in question is a Feral Druid, they will most likely also have the talent of Faerie Fire(Feral) which requires no rage and assists in initial aggro establishment as well as allowing a druid to perform a ranged pull without having to shift out of Bear form and use a mana based ranged spell. Faerie Fire also has the benefit of not having any travel time, which allows for better control of when a mob will be pulled. Knockbacks Feral specialized Druids can almost immediately recover from knockbacks using Feral Charge. Fear Some encounters, notably Magmadar, Onyxia, and Nefarian, are made easier with fear-eliminating abilities. A Druid is not as viable in these encounters as a Main Tank without the use of Fear Ward or Tremor Totems. Druids can also use fear-dispelling trinkets such as Insignia of the Alliance/Insignia of the Horde and the Glimmering Mithril Insignia, although these are all on high cooldowns. In addition, Druids may gain an innate 15% resistance to fear and stun mechanics through the Feral Combat talent Primal Tenacity. Disarm Druids are affected less by being disarmed than other classes as their attacks are made with claws and teeth. This means that often they may be affected by the "disarmed" debuff, but it doesn't change their attack power or anything else normally affected by being disarmed. This can be rather useful in encounters such as General Rajaxx. On the other hand, sometimes the "disarmed" debuff is enough to trigger an effect, as with the Ethereal Thief mobs in Karazhan. Emergency Buttons Druids have Frenzied Regeneration, consuming 10 rage per second for 10 seconds to heal for up to 250 health each tick and up to 375 on criticals of the ability, as each tick has the chance to critical heal. This ability is on a 3 minute cooldown. It should be noted the Frenzied Regeneration will use up all the rage a druid in bear form aquires, so they will be unable to use their other moves, such as swipe or maul. In addition, they have the ability to use trinkets. In certain dire situations, a druid can shift out to caster form, and use Barkskin and Tranquility as a last-ditch effort, although it is a very hit-or-miss tactic. Another more reliable, although far less dramatic, tactic is to use the talent (if you have specialized in restoration for it) Nature's Swiftness and a high ranked Healing Touch. However, these tactics are not recommended in any dungeon higher than a normal mode 5-man, as in many cases raid mobs will deal enough damage to kill you before you return to bear form. Druids can use items which are typically used pre-fight such as Flasks and several longer duration potions. However, as noted before, Druids cannot use consumables while in form, so they cannot be reapplied if they are somehow dispelled. Weapon Procs Druids cannot utilize "Chance on Hit" procs on weapons, precluding the use of Windfury, Crusader, and other enchants. They can, however, make use of "Chance on Hit" abilities in other slots (Heroism and Maelstrom cards). Polymorphing Bosses When a tank is polymorphed, they lose aggro. Druids are generally immune to polymorph in Cat, Bear, Dire Bear, Moonkin and Tree of Life forms, so they will not lose aggro. This comes in handy with encounters that Polymorph, such as: Jin'do the Hexxer and Blackwing Spellbinders in Blackwing Lair. Bear Form Tanking Gear A list of Bear form tanking gear for a level 60 druid can be found here: Bear Tanking Gear. A comparative list of Burning Crusade druid gear can be found here: Druid Gear List Category:Druids Category:Druid Talents